The present invention relates to a fishing device, more particularly to a device for attracting fish to a lure and most particularly to a flasher that is releasably attached to a fishing line between the lure and a fishing rod.
Fishing attractors and in particular conventional flashers have been used to attract fish such as salmon to a lure. Hereinafter, when the term lure is used, it is intended to encompass not only artificial lures, but also normal bait and/or other materials normally associated with a fish hook to cause a fish to strike and become hooked. The flasher is conventionally attached to a fishing line between the fisherman""s rod and the lure. The function of the flasher is to cause lateral movement of the bait as the flasher and bait are drawn through the water. The flasher many times also has a shiny surface to visually attract the fish. When a fish strikes the lure, the flasher constitutes a significant drag not only as the fish runs with the lure but also as the fisherman is reeling in the fish. It is therefore desirable to have a flasher or similar fish attractor that functions in a conventional manner to attract fish, but does not create significant drag on the fishing line either in an outgoing or incoming mode once a fish has struck the lure.
The present invention in its broadest sense comprises a releasable fishing device. The device includes a body having a distal end and a proximal end. The body is preferably a fish attractor such as a flasher-type device. A guide member is attached to the proximal end of the body while a releasable member is releasably attached to the distal end of the body. The releasable member has an aperture therethrough. A line is threaded through the guide member and the aperture in the releasable member. A stop is affixed to the line between the guide member and the releasable member. As the body is pulled through the water or trolled by movement of the rod relative to the water, the stop member contacts the guide member and pulls the body through the water so that it can function in a conventional manner. A lure is connected to the distal end of the line. Once a fish strikes the lure and runs with the lure, the line is drawn in a distal direction relative to the body. As this occurs, the stop member translates in a distal direction and contacts the releasable member and releases the member from the body, thus allowing the line to move freely relative to the body as the fish runs with the lure.